Amy

After looking at #19, is it your left hand that does not exist for you, physically or perceptually?

No, when I first met you, I noticed nothing in particular different about you except that your gait looked tense. Probably because you weren't swinging your arm. This doesn't mean I judged you, just that I sensed your posture was different. That's all.

Thanks for telling me why.

Amy

After confiding in you my deepest and most vulnerable feelings and memories, I have deleted them. Why? I don't know. I guess I can't face myself in the mirror.

But, I feel so much better. You didn't judge me or try to classify my feelings. You didn't' tell me to suck it up or get over myself.

When I read your posts, I feel a sense of belongingness, as if I could have written the same words (albeit not as eloquently as you).

Thom

Great story – are you saving these? I hope so.

I’m attaching #31 which isn’t really a story but two photos – just two words plus the one word title. No one likes this one, but it does reflect an issue I struggle with.

I’m not sure of you’ll be able to make it out.

Amy

I have a brief thought to share.

It was mid September 1990. I was in my first year as a graduate student at Vanderbilt University. I was one of 13 students admitted to the psychology program and the first with a visual disability. For the first assignment in our statistics course we had to read The Mismeasure of Man by Steven Gould and then, in essay format, apply our knowledge of statistics and research methodology to critically analyze the reading.

As I walked into the room the on the day the assignment was returned, the professor stopped me to mention that he and the TA thought my essay was the best of all the student. I thought privately to myself “No kidding.” I always felt instructors had lower expectations of me, so when I performed even average, they were astounded. Keeping this in mind, I remain humble as not to confuse astonishment of ability, despite disability, with praise. Yes, I can read, write, and even ride a bike. Why are you surprised?

BTW: I saw Steven Gould give a talk at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami. Francis Crick was in the audience too. That was a cool science moment for me.

Thanks for sharing your writings. I look forward to them.

Thom

In this post I was describing to a colleague the changes in my arm over a long period of time - although it occurs to me, with your vision, you may not realize how atrophied my arm is.

Anyway – not for any particular reason, I paused for a moment in my description, and the colleague quickly filled in the adjective.

Much of my earlier writing was in these very brief thoughts. The things I write now are longer and far more narrative, but they are all my story.